A common problem facing producers of oil and gas from producing wells is that of theft of oil and gas field valves and equipment from wellheads located in remote and unguarded areas. In a matter of minutes, a thief using conventional adjustable wrenches can unbolt a wellhead christmas tree and remove it from the wellhead casing flange. Considering, not only the cost of the christmas tree, but also the loss of oil or gas production, the oil or gas waste and the man-time required to install another christmas tree, the theft of a christmas from a producing oil or gas well is extremely costly.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that will deter any would-be thief and greatly reduce the theft of oil field valves and equipment from remote and unguarded locations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a nut-like locking device which is easily installed and difficult to remove, once installed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nut-like locking device that is sealed from the detrimental effects of the environment.